Using a framework akin to portfolio theory in asset pricing, we introduce the concept of “political beta” to model firm-level export diversification in response to global political risk. The main implication of our model is that a firm is less responsive to changes in political relations...

Staatliche Zahlungsausfälle haben nicht selten politische Ursachen. Während ökonomische Rahmenbedingungen wie etwa Wirtschaftswachstum, Finanzstabilität oder globale Investorenstimmungen die Zahlungsfähigkeit eines Staates beeinflussen, wird die tatsächliche Rückzahlung von Staatsschulden...

The efficient market hypothesis describes an efficient market as one in which investors cannot consistently predict stock returns because prices instantly reflect all the information flowing into the market. However, return predictability has been documented in many markets. This study tests the...

For internationally oriented firms or individuals that choose to eliminate the effects of fluctuating exchange rates, either currency forward contracts or currency futures can be used to fulfil this requirement. Both tools essentially lock in prospective exchange rates, thereby eliminating both...

This paper examines the efficiency in pricing securities as well as the relation between exchange rate and dynamics of equity returns in a number of emerging stock markets from Africa and Asia,. This study utilizes methodologies based on Single variance ratio test of Lo and Mackinlay (1988),...

Fama's (1970) efficient market hypothesis (EMH) and the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) jointly ascribed to Markowitz (1952), Treynor (1961), Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966) remain the foundation of most finance and investment courses. This is surprising, given the sustained...

This study investigates the impact of the macroeconomic environment on South African industrial sector returns. Using standardized coefficients, we find that global influences are the most important drivers of returns and that industrial sectors are highly integrated with the global economy. We...

The efficient market hypothesis describes an efficient market as one in which investors cannot consistently predict stock returns because prices instantly reflect all the information flowing into the market. However, return predictability has been documented in many markets. This study tests the...

The currency premium is one of the three components of the differential between local and foreign interest rates. Emerging economies such as South Africa typically face positive interest rate differentials, i.e., a higher cost of capital than developed economies. In this paper we aim at...